


Reckless

by PrinceSnoozy



Series: HurtNoctWeek [6]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Blood Loss, Blood and Injury, Blood and Violence, Gen, Head Injury, HurtNoctWeek, Reckless Behavior, loose interpretation of game mechanics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-08
Updated: 2018-03-08
Packaged: 2019-03-28 12:50:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13904382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrinceSnoozy/pseuds/PrinceSnoozy
Summary: Noctis is separated from his friends and tries to fight on his own. It doesn't work so well.





	Reckless

**Author's Note:**

> HurtNoctWeek Day 7: Having to fight through a severe injury to either save the guys or save himself.
> 
> I skipped out on yesterday's prompts, but I'm back for Day 7! This one gave me some trouble and I'm not too happy with it, but that's just how it is sometimes

So, maybe he shouldn't have ran ahead. Maybe he shouldn't have ignored Ignis and Gladio yelling at him to slow down. And maybe he shouldn't have tried to fight a Cockatrice without antidotes and, as a result, slid down one or two or three different cliffs. Then maybe he wouldn't be standing wherever this is, in the dark, facing off against an iron giant without any potions. Maybe.  
  
Noctis rolled out of the way of another swing of its greatsword, flinging his own blade forward to warp strike. He had to be getting close, what with its weapon swings slower now and easier to dodge. He somersaulted over the giant and switched weapons, spinning around midair to strike it with his polearm. It flailed its arms and swung backward, striking him from the side before he could react. He hit the ground hard, rolling several feet before coming to a stop on his back.  
  
"Shit..."  
  
He coughed, the wind knocked out of him, and rolled to the side just as the greatsword came down, striking the ground where his body would've been. He panted, just barely on his feet, then gasped suddenly in pain, grasping his head. His head roared with ocean waves and a chorus of chanting voices, his eyes darting to the lake not too far away.  
  
"Looks like I'm out of options."  
  
Upon his decision, Leviathan burst forth from the lake and picked Noctis up, assaulting the iron giant (and the landscape below) with a tornado of rushing water. He rolled upon reaching the ground after the Astral's attack, steadying himself on one hand. He coughed again, a sharp pain shooting up through his right side suddenly, almost like he'd broken a rib.  
  
"Great."  
  
He stood shakily to his feet, holding his left side with one hand, wiping his mouth with the other. He brought it away with wide eyes to find blood mixed with spit, then he wiped at the rest of his face all the way up into his hairline, finding more blood. His hair at his crown was soaked and matted with it, and it had managed to drip all the way down his face from where he'd smeared it with his hand. He swallowed, mild panic setting in as he felt the warm blood still running down his forehead and side of his face.  
  
Engines sounded overhead, and he looked up in time to see a platoon of Magitek Troopers land from a dropship. Noctis hissed through his teeth and winced as he drew his arm to the side to summon a blade. He threw it, striking into a nearby rockface, and his original plan was to vault up over it to high ground and push off into a dead sprint.  
  
Instead, his jaw dropped open into an agonizing scream as he hung from his right arm, a hot ripping sensation consuming the entire right side of his torso, all the way up into his shoulder. He gasped for air, holding his side with his free hand, finding warm wetness like on his face and a rather sizable chunk of his shirt missing. He gasped through clenched teeth as his hand found the wound itself, yanking his own hand away when the pain of a simple touch was too much.  
  
Bullets whizzed past his face and he flinched, crying out as the movement pulled at the wound, tears pricking the corners of his eyes. He turned his head toward the MTs on the ground, who had their guns trained on his position, and he dropped as bullets struck the rockface behind him. His sword dissolved into blue light and so did he just before he hit the ground, catching himself on his good side. He staggered at first, panting, gulping in air as if it would help numb the pain.  
  
He rolled to the side as bullets fired on him again, sliding on ice and snow as he summoned forth a Blizzaga spell. He slid to a stop on his feet, a warm dampness seeping into his fatigues now, and took in the scene for a few moments. Almost a dozen MTs, all with range weapons. He phased out of the way of another hail of bullets, staggering sideways as his head spun, and stumbled directly into one of the MTs.  
  
Noctis fell backward onto the ground, landing hard on his tailbone, reflexively grasping onto his side, which just shot more pain through the injured tissue. He blinked through blood that now dripped into his eyes, his vision clearing just enough for him to see, and then feel, the cold barrel of a rifle pressed to his temple. He took in a sharp breath, time seeming to slow to a crawl around him as reality set in.  
  
_No... not here!_  
  
A flash of white light and the clash of metal on metal, and the MT's rifle arm deflected sharply out to the side. Noctis stumbled to his feet, energy draining fast as the Armiger spun around him. He deflected left, then right, then forward, charging through the mass of MTs and distracting or outright killing them as he half-limped, half-sprinted forward toward the rock face again. With the Armiger going around him, he summoned enough energy to airwalk several feet into the air and, with a cry of desperation and agony, threw one of his blades in a high arc at the top of the rock face and warped.  
  
He landed hard on his injured side, cushioned slightly by his arm, and scrambled to his feet as more bullets rained on his position. He took off into a sprint, adrenaline and exhaustion numbing out the pain enough that he covered quite the distance, the sounds of battle fading out behind him as he lost his pursuers. He took one last look behind him and, satisfied, he slowed to a stop in a small group of trees.  
  
With one arm, he leaned against one tree for a moment, pulling in painful breath after painful breath. He used his other hand to pull his phone out of his pocket, checking for a signal. The red battery indicator flashed once, then the entire phone vibrated as the screen went black. Dead. He finally collapsed against the tree, letting his one arm drape uselessly across his lap as he stared up at the night sky through the branches.  
  
It was useless. He was alone, he had no means to call a Chocobo or his friends, he had no idea where he was, and he'd already soaked through two layers of clothes with his own blood from a wound he wouldn't have gotten if he hadn't been so _stupid_. He groaned, his head throbbing as he shifted slightly to take pressure off his side and to get a better look at the wound.  
  
Upon peeling back his ruined shirt, all he saw was dark red, almost black in the dim light. Blood had flowed out of the wound and smeared around it, obscuring its shape, but the darkest area had to be where the actual wound was, a dark oblong region that ran from near his ribs down at a swallow angle, wrapping around his side where it seemed to end, but he couldn't see that far without bending slightly, and doing so pulled at it so much that his vision went white with pain.  
  
With a hiss, he leaned back against the tree fully again, closing his eyes and mulling over his options. He could try to walk to a haven, but without a clear direction of where to go he'd bleed out before he'd make it there. Staying here was out of the question, as a daemon could show up at any moment, and he was in no shape to fight his way out. And the road...  
  
His eyes popped open. It was faint, but it was the droning of a car engine, and it came from behind him. He pulled himself to his feet, albeit unsteadily, and limped toward the sound. Upon leaving the trees, sure enough, he could see a straight stretch of road in the distance, and the dark shadow of a car traveling unusually slow along it.  
  
He steeled himself and summoned the Engine Blade and tossed it weakly, warping with it only a few feet. He cried out and rolled with the sword in his grasp, and threw it again, weaker still, and landed on his hands and knees without catching the blade. He coughed and winced, staring bleary-eyed at the car moving slowly across his vision. He was close enough now to see it was a convertible with the top down, and someone was standing up in the passenger seat, pointing something in his direction.  
  
He warped one last time, going at least several meters this time, and the car slowed. He felt drained, but he had one last bit of energy left, and with clenched teeth he casted Thundaga at the sky. He heard tires screech as he slumped forward onto the ground, barely catching himself on his forearms as his legs failed to hold him upright. Lifting his head up just enough to see over his arms, he could see someone jump the guardrail and begin sprinting toward him, followed by angry voices of protest. With another groan, he let his head fall into the dirt, the strain of keeping his head up too much as something much like sleep starting to overtake him.  
  
"I was right!" an all-too-familiar voice shouted above him. "It's him!"  
  
Noctis winced and whined as he was shaken by one shoulder, barely moving as hands found his head. Suddenly, he was on his back, staring half-lidded at the sky as hands worried over him, and he thought he heard a gasp at one point, but it was far away and muddied. Then someone was yelling and it sounded far too loud and he winced, hissing through his teeth. A hand petted through his hair once, then twice, then pulled away upon reaching the wound on his head. He winced again at more yelling, which was more like a scream at this point.  
  
Then he heard something shatter, and all at once felt warmth radiating from the wound at his side, causing the rest of him to shiver almost violently. He blinked away tears of pain again, clearing his vision enough to see that he was laying on his side, with Prompto hovering over him with a bloody cloth, and Gladio at his knees to hold them at a shallow bend toward his chest.  
  
"Back with us?" Ignis's voice sounded behind him and above somewhere, and Noctis turned his head toward it, wincing at stiff muscles. "Noct, how are you feeling?"  
  
"Like shit," Noctis mumbled in reply, letting his head fall back onto its side.  
  
"Just h--" Gladio started to say, but Noctis clenched his teeth and interrupted.  
  
"I know, I know, it was stupid, and I paid for it."  
  
"What I was gonna ask," Gladio said, sitting up fully, "is how in the hell did you end up so far out here?"  
  
"Cockatrice hit me with something and I ended up at the bottom of a cliff," Noctis muttered bitterly, closing his eyes as a hand slid onto his forehead.  
  
"Well at least your cognitive abilities haven't suffered," Ignis replied with a layer of sarcasm, removing his hand moments after. "Well, then, let's get you back to the Regalia."  
  
"Can you stand, dude?" Prompto asked, laying a hand on his arm.  
  
"Just... gimme a minute," Noctis said breathlessly, letting his breathing even out.  
  
After what seemed like seconds, Prompto shook his arm.  
  
"Dude!" Prompto nearly-yelled at his face, tapping his cheek with his knuckles.  
  
"What?" Noctis groaned, feeling groggy.  
  
"You were falling asleep!" Prompto laughed, sounding relieved.  
  
"Not exactly the ideal place for that," Ignis said, a smile in his voice.  
  
"Yeah, now get your ass up and let's get back to the car," Gladio bellowed, pulling him up by his arm.  
  
"Oww, take it easy," Noctis groaned, not able to keep the laugh out of his voice.  
  
With Prompto's support under one arm, he walked with them back to the car, safe to travel onward to the nearest hotel to clean up and rest for the night. They truly needed it.


End file.
